everyone´s way of the cross, clarence enzler - from upside down b

Everyone's Way of the Cross

(Art by Laura James)

Today I wanted to begin a series of posts that are from a little book that is very special to me.

Several years ago I went to a women’s retreat at Rockfish and a friend-of-a-friend came as the

speaker. Her name was Margaret Hitt and it was a wonderful time of renewal and rest for me.

In one of her sessions, Margaret read a short little booklet to us called Everyone’s Way of the

Cross. It made such an impact on me that I searched it out on the internet and bought several

copies of it. The author is Clarence Enzler and it is a contemporary telling of the 14 Stations of

the Cross. So, hopefully, I’ve given enough credit and sharing this with you won’t be totally

illegal or unethical from a publishing point of view! Go to Amazon and buy some copies! It's

worth it!

I'm going to start off with the Introduction & the first "step" together. Then we'll just do one

step at at time.

http://upsidedownbee.blogspot.com/2009/04/everyones-way-of-cross.html

http://laurajamesart.com/bio.htm

http://www.amazon.com/Everyones-Way-Cross-Clarence-Enzler/dp/0877933383




Introduction

Christ Speaks

These fourteen steps that you are now about to walk

you do not take alone. I walk with you.

Though you are you,

and I am I, yet we are truly one –

one Christ. And there fore

my way of the cross two thousand years ago

and your “way” now are also one.

But note this difference.

My life was incomplete until I crowned it by my death.

Your fourteen steps will only be complete

when you have crowned them by your life.



Matthew 16:21-28

From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to

Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life. Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. "Never, Lord!" he said. "This

shall never happen to you!"Jesus turned and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men." Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits

his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father's glory with his angels, and then he will reward

each person according to what he has done. I tell you the truth, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his

kingdom."


4.02.2009

Everyone's Way of the Cross - Step 1


Jesus is Condemned

Christ Speaks

In Pilate’s hands, my other self, I see my Father’s will.

though Pilate is unjust, he is the lawful governor

and he has power over me.

And so the Son of God obeys.

If I can bow to Pilate’s rule because this is my Father’s will,

can you refuse obedience to those whom I place over you?



I Reply

My Jesus, Lord, obedience cost you your life.

For me it costs an act of will –

no more – and yet how hard it is for me to bend.

Remove the blinders from my eyes

that I may see that it is you whom I obey in all who govern me.

Lord, it is you.

(from Everyone’s Way of the Cross by Clarence Enzler)

Hebrews 13:17

Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you as men who must give an account. Obey them so that their work will be a joy, not a

burden, for that would be of no advantage to you.

http://www.amazon.com/Everyones-Way-Cross-Clarence-Enzler/dp/0877933383/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1238836398&sr=8-1

http://www.mylivesignature.com/

4.03.2009

Everyone's Way of the Cross - Day 2 / Step 2


Jesus Takes His Cross

Christ Speaks

This cross,

this chunk of tree,

is what my Father chose for me.

The crosses you must bear

are largely products of your daily life.

And yet my Father chose them, too,

for you.

Receive them from his hands.

Take heart, my other self,

I will not let your burdens grow

one ounce too heavy for your strength.

http://upsidedownbee.blogspot.com/2009/04/everymans-way-of-cross-day-2.html

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_00c1D5M1SX8/SdXYDfOIGaI/AAAAAAAACy4/oTkvfNSGjRc/s1600-h/Jesus+Bears+His+Cross.jpg

I reply

My Jesus, Lord,

I take my daily cross.

I welcome the monotony

that often marks my day,

discomforts of all kinds,

the summer’s heat, the winter’s cold,

my disappointments, tensions, setbacks,

cares.

Remind me often that

in carrying my cross,

I carry yours with you.

And though I bear a sliver only

of your cross,

you carry all of mine, except a sliver,

in return.


1 Peter 5:6-11

Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up

in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. Be self-

controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion

looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because

you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same

kind of sufferings.

And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you

have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm

and steadfast. To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen.



4.04.2009



Jesus Falls

Christ Speaks

The God who made the universe, and holds it in existence

by his will alone, becomes a man, too weak to bear

a piece of timber’s weight. How human in his weakness is the Son

of God

My Father willed it thus. I could not be your model otherwise.

If you would be my other self, you also must accept without complaint

your human frailities.

http://upsidedownbee.blogspot.com/2009/04/everymans-way-of-cross.html

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_00c1D5M1SX8/SdcmVUNy2dI/AAAAAAAACzY/-0lpEvPCgpE/s1600-h/Jesus+falls.jpg

I reply

Lord Jesus, how can I refuse?

I willingly accept my weaknesses,

my irritations and my moods, my headaches and fatigue,

all my defects of body, mind and soul. Because they are your will for me,

these “handicaps” of my humanity, I gladly suffer them.

Make me content with all my discontents, but give me strength to struggle after you.


2 Corinthians 12:7-10

7To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great

revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. 8Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. 9But

he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so

that Christ's power may rest on me. 10That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I

am weak, then I am strong.



4.05.2009



Jesus Meets His Mother

Christ Speaks

My mother sees me whipped. She sees me kicked and driven like a beast.

She counts my every wound. But though her soul cries out in agony,

no protest or complaint escapes her lips

or even enters her thoughts.

She shares my martyrdom –and I share hers. We hide no pain,

no sorrow, from each other’s eyes. This is my Father’s will.

http://upsidedownbee.blogspot.com/2009/04/everyones-way-of-cross-day-4.html

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_00c1D5M1SX8/SdiijZhx4jI/AAAAAAAACzo/u9Fv_m3F4Ag/s1600-h/Jesus+Meets+His+Mother.jpg

I Reply

My Jesus, Lord, I know what you are telling me.

To watch the pain of those we love is harder than to bear our own.

To carry my cross after you, I, too, must stand and watch

the sufferings of my dear ones – the heartaches, sicknesses and grief

of those I love.

And I must let them watch mine, too.

I do believe – for those who love you

all things work together unto good.

(From Everyone’s Way of the Cross by Clarence Enzler)

Luke 2:25-35 25Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was

upon him. 26It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord's Christ. 27Moved by the Spirit, he went into the

temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required, 28Simeon took him in his arms and praised

God, saying: 29"Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you now dismiss your servant in peace. 30For my eyes have seen your salvation, 31which you have prepared in the sight of all people, 32a light for revelation to the Gentiles and

for glory to your people Israel."

33The child's father and mother marveled at what was said about him. 34Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: "This child is destined to

cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, 35so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a

sword will pierce your own soul too."

http://www.amazon.com/Everyones-Way-Cross-Clarence-Enzler/dp/0877933383/ref=pd_bbs_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1238933907&sr=8-1


4.06.2009

Everyone's Way of the Cross Day 5 / Step 5


Simon Helps Jesus

Christ Speaks

My strength is gone; I can no longer bear the cross alone.

And so the legionnaires make Simon give me aid.

This Simon is like you, my other self.

Give me your strength.

Each time you lift some burden from

another’s back, you lift as with your very hand

the cross’ awful weight that crushes me.




I Reply

Lord, make me realize that every time I wipe a dish, pick up an object off the floor,

assist a child in some small task, or give another preference

in traffic or the store; each time I feed the hungry,

clothe the naked, teach the ignorant,

or lend my hand in any way – it matters not to whom –

my name is Simon. And the kindness I extend to them

I really give to you.


Matthew 27:27-32

27Then the governor's soldiers took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole company of soldiers around him. 28They stripped him and put a scarlet

robe on him, 29and then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on his head. They put a staff in his right hand and knelt in front of him and mocked

him. "Hail, king of the Jews!" they said. 30They spit on him, and took the staff and struck him on the head again and again. 31After they had mocked him, they

took off the robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him away to crucify him.

32As they were going out, they met a man from Cyrene, named Simon, and they

forced him to carry the cross.



4.07.2009



Veronica Helps Jesus

Christ Speaks

Can you be brave enough, my other self, to wipe my bloody face?

Where is my face, you ask?

At home whenever eyes fill up with tears,

at work when tensions rise, on playgrounds,

in the slums, the courts, the hospitals, the jails –

wherever suffering exists – my face is there.

And there I look for you to wipe away my blood and tears.




I Reply

Lord, what you ask is hard. It calls for courage and self-sacrifice,

and I am weak. Please, give me strength.

Don’t let me run away because of fear.

Lord, live in me and act in me

and love in me, and not in me alone – in all of us –

so that we may reveal no more your bloody but your glorious

face on earth.


Matthew 25:31-46

31"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. 32All the nations will be gathered before

him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on

his left.

34"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the

creation of the world. 35For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you

invited me in, 36I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'

37"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39When did we

see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'

http://www.amazon.com/Everyones-Way-Cross-Clarence-Enzler/dp/0877933383/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1239153197&sr=8-1

40"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least

of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'

41"Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42For I was hungry

and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you

did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.'

44"They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?'

45"He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the

least of these, you did not do for me.'

46"Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life."


4.08.2009



Jesus Falls Again

Christ Speaks

This seventh step, my other self,

is one that tests your will.

From this fall learn to persevere

in doing good.

The time will come

when all your efforts seem to fail

and you will think,

“I can’t go on.”

Then turn to me,

my heavy-laden one,

and I will give you rest.

Trust me

and carry on.



http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_00c1D5M1SX8/Sd3IAAZhmDI/AAAAAAAAC24/5-dAeUvh5l8/s1600-h/Jesus+falls+again.jpg

I Reply

Give me your courage, Lord.

When failure presses heavily on me

and I am desolate,

stretch out your hand

to lift me up.

I know I must not cease,

but persevere

in doing good.

But help me, Lord,

Alone there’s nothing I can do.

With you, I can do anything you ask.

I will.


Psalm 37:23-28

23 If the LORD delights in a man's way,

he makes his steps firm;

24 though he stumble, he will not fall,

for the LORD upholds him with his hand.

25 I was young and now I am old,

yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken

or their children begging bread.

26 They are always generous and lend freely;

their children will be blessed.

27 Turn from evil and do good;

then you will dwell in the land forever.

28 For the LORD loves the just

and will not forsake his faithful ones.

They will be protected forever,

but the offspring of the wicked will be cut off;



4.09.2009



Jesus Consoles the Women

Christ Speaks

How often had I longed to take the children of Jerusalem and gather them to me.

But they refused.

But now these women weep for me and my heart mourns for them –

mourns for their sorrows that will come.

I comfort those who seek to solace me.

How gentle can you be, my other self? How kind?


http://laurajamesart.com/


I Reply

My Jesus, your compassion in your passion

is beyond compare.

Lord, teach me, help me learn.

When I would snap at those who hurt me with their ridicule,

those who misunderstand, or hinder me with some misguided

helpfulness, those who intrude upon my privacy –

then help me curb my tongue.

May gentleness become my cloak.

Lord, make me kind like you.


Luke 13:34

34"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to

you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!



4.10.2009



Jesus Falls a Third Time

Christ Speaks

Completely drained of strength I lie, collapsed, upon the cobblestones.

My body cannot move. No blows, no kicks,

can rouse it up.

And yet my will is mine.

And so is yours.

Know this, my other self, your body may be broken,

but no force on earth and none in hell

can take away your will.

Your will is yours.




I Reply

My Lord, I see you take a moment’s rest

then rise and stagger on. So I can do

Because my will is mine.

When all my strength is gone and guilt and self-reproach

press me to earth and seem to hold me fast, protect me from the sin of Judas –

save me from despair!

Lord, never let me feel that any sin of mine is greater than your love.

No matter what my past has been I can begin anew.


Psalm 103:8-16

8 The LORD is compassionate and gracious,

slow to anger, abounding in love. 9 He will not always accuse,

nor will he harbor his anger forever; 10 he does not treat us as our sins deserve

or repay us according to our iniquities. 11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth,

so great is his love for those who fear him; 12 as far as the east is from the west,

so far has he removed our transgressions from us. 13 As a father has compassion on his children,

so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him; 14 for he knows how we are formed,

he remembers that we are dust. 15 As for man, his days are like grass, he flourishes like a flower of the field;

16 the wind blows over it and it is gone, and its place remembers it no more.



4.11.2009



Jesus is Stripped

Christ Speaks

Behold, my other self, the poorest king who ever lived.

Before my creatures I stand stripped. The cross – my deathbed –

even this is not my own.

Yet who has ever been so rich?

Possessing nothing, I own all – my Father’s love.

If you, too, would own everything,

be not solicitous about your food, your clothes

your life.




I Reply

I offer you my all – whatever I possess,

and more, my self.

Detach me from the craving for

prestige, position, wealth.

Root out of me all trace of envy of my neighbor

who has more than I. Release me from the vice of pride,

my longing to exalt myself, and lead me to the lowest place.

May I be poor in spirit, Lord, so that I can be rich in you.


Galatians 5:22-26

22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness,

faithfulness, 23gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its

passions and desires. 25Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. 26Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.



4.12.2009



Jesus is Crucified

Christ Speaks

Can you imagine what a crucifixion is?

My executioners stretch my arms;

they hold my hand and wrist against the wood

and press the nail until it stabs my flesh. Then, with one heavy hammer smash,

they drive it through – and pain

bursts like a bomb of fire in my brain.

They size the other arm; and agony again explodes.

Then raising up my knees

so that my feet are flat against the wood, they hammer them fast, too.



http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_00c1D5M1SX8/SeMMs6SX1WI/AAAAAAAAC4Q/RJgMjHnsGas/s1600-h/Jesus+is+nailed+to+the+cross.jpg

I Reply

My God, I look at you and think:

Is my soul worth this much?

What can I give you in return?

I here and now accept for all my life

whatever sickness, torment, agony may come.

To every cross I touch my lips.

O blessed cross that lets me be – with you –

a co-redeemer of humanity.


Galatians 2:20

20I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.

The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.



4.13.2009



Jesus Dies

Christ Speaks

The cross becomes a pulpit now – “Forgive them, Father…

You will be with me in Paradise… There is your mother…There…your

son… I thirst…

It is complete.”

To speak I have to raise myself by pressing on my wrists and feet and every move engulfs me in new

waves of agony.

And then, when I have borne enough, have emptied my humanity, I let my mortal life depart.




I Reply

My Jesus, God,

what can I say or do?

I offer you my death with all its pains,

accepting now the time and kind of death in store for me.

Not by a single instant would I lengthen my life’s span.

I offer you my death

for my own sins and for those of all humanity.

My God! My God! Forsake us not.

We know not what we do.


Psalm 39:4-7

4 "Show me, O LORD, my life's end and the number of my days;

let me know how fleeting is my life. 5 You have made my days a mere handbreadth;

the span of my years is as nothing before you. Each man's life is but a breath.

Selah 6 Man is a mere phantom as he goes to and fro:

He bustles about, but only in vain; he heaps up wealth, not knowing who will get it.

7 "But now, Lord, what do I look for? My hope is in you.



4.14.2009



Jesus is Taken Down

Christ Speaks

The sacrifice is done.

Yes, my Mass is complete; but not my mother’s

and not yours, my other self.

My mother still must cradle in her arms the lifeless body of the son she bore.

You, too, must part from those you love, and grief will come to you.

In your bereavements think of this:

A multitude of souls were saved by Mary’s sharing in my Calvary.

Your grief can also be the price of souls.



http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_00c1D5M1SX8/SeUoprCzIvI/AAAAAAAAC4w/lD4MlzQMlMw/s1600-h/Jesus+is+taken+down.jpg

I Reply

I beg you, Lord, help me accept the partings that must

come –from friends who go away, my children leaving home,

and most of all, my dear ones

when you shall call them to yourself.

Then, give me grace to say: “As it has pleased you, Lord,to take them home,

I bow to your most holy will. And if by just one word

I might restore their lives against your will,

I would not speak.”

Grant them eternal joy.


Mark 15:42-47

42It was Preparation Day (that is, the day before the Sabbath). So as evening approached, 43Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent member of the Council, who

was himself waiting for the kingdom of God, went boldly to Pilate and asked for Jesus' body. 44Pilate was surprised to hear that he was already dead.

Summoning the centurion, he asked him if Jesus had already died. 45When he learned from the centurion that it was so, he gave the body to Joseph. 46So

Joseph bought some linen cloth, took down the body, wrapped it in the linen, and placed it in a tomb cut out of rock. Then he rolled a stone against the

entrance of the tomb. 47Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Jesus saw where he was laid.



4.15.2009



Jesus is Buried

Christ Speaks

So ends my mortal life.

But now another life begins for Mary,

and for Magdalen, for Peter and for John,

and you.

My life’s work is done. My work within and through my church

must now commence.

I look to you, my other self.

Day in, day out, from this time forth, be my apostle –

victim – saint.




I Reply

My Jesus, Lord, You know my spirit is as willing

as my flesh is weak.

The teaching you could not impart, the sufferings you could not bear, the works of love you could not do

in your short life on earth, let me impart,

and bear, and do

through you.

But I am nothing, Lord. Help Me!


Matthew 28:16-20

16Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. 17When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. 18Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20and

teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."



Conclusion

Christ Speaks

I told you at the start, my other self, my life was not complete

until I crowned it by my death. Your “way” is not complete

unless you crown it by your life.

Accept each moment as it comes to you, with faith and trust

that all that happens has my mark on it. A simple fiat, this is all it takes;

a breathing in your heart,“I will it, Lord.”

So seek me not in far-off places. I am close at hand.

Your workbench, office, kitchen, these are altars

where you offer love. And I am with you there.

Go now! Take up your cross

and with your life complete your way.




Taken from:

Introduction and Step 1: http://upsidedownbee.blogspot.com/2009/04/everyones-way-of-cross.html

Step 2: http://upsidedownbee.blogspot.com/2009/04/everymans-way-of-cross-day-2.html

Step 3: http://upsidedownbee.blogspot.com/2009/04/everymans-way-of-cross.html

Step 4: http://upsidedownbee.blogspot.com/2009/04/everyones-way-of-cross-day-4.html










Conclusion and Step 14: http://upsidedownbee.blogspot.com/2009/04/everyones-way-of-cross-day-14.html

Thank you very much Belinda!

Recopilación y Diseño

Ediciones Ármari-Emaús, Guatemala C.A.

Tel. (502) 5511-5535



http://upsidedownbee.blogspot.com/2009/04/everymans-way-of-cross-day-2.html

http://upsidedownbee.blogspot.com/2009/04/everymans-way-of-cross.html













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